Gus Poyet will no doubt be keen to bolster his attacking options after the club survived relegation by the skin of their teeth last term, eventually relying on a late spurt of goals from youngster Connor Wickham who was rushed back from a loan spell at Leeds United to assist Sunderland's under-firing senior strikers.

Jozy Altidore and Steven Fltecher managed to register only four league goals between them all campaign, and their combined total was eclipsed by the 21-year-old Wickham who managed five in just 12 appearances.

Although Gomis is far from prolific in Ligue 1 with a modest 62 goals in 172 games at Lyon, the 28-year-old French international is still a highly sort-after player across Europe with his performances said to have also caught the eye of Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Zenit St Petersburg.

Newcastle had been regarded as being in the driving seat to sign the striker after reports in the French media suggested Gomis had been offered a sizeable signing on fee of around €2.5m in a bid to tie up the deal before competition mounted from elsewhere.

But with the deal yet to be confirmed, it appears to be out of the hands of Newcastle United and up to Gomis and his representatives.

Sunderland will hope they can compete for the forward, but are unlikely to trouble Newcastle who have a history of getting the upper-hand over their rivals in such situations.

Alan Pardew will have his fingers crossed that the strong French contingency he has built at St James' Park will be enough to tempt the striker to towards joining the Toon Army, but it is likely he will be forced to fight with the two Turkish giants who could more than match just about any wage demands.

Alexander Stebbings

Graduate journalist with sights set firmly on a career in sports writing. Former Sevilla FC correspondent at ElCentrocampista.com and part of the original team that got the website up and running. Sunderland fan with a second love for the Italian game. Andrea Pirlo enthusiast.